Manning and new wide receiver Brandon Marshall never got on the same page. Marshall, a 12th-year veteran, was held without a catch until a meaningless 10-yard grab on the Giants' final possession.

Marshall wasn't the only new weapon to have an underwhelming debut. First-round pick Evan Engram had four catches for 44 yards as the Giants failed to unleash the tight end's 4.4-second 40-yard dash speed down the field until a late 31-yard gain.

Manning completed 29-of-38 passes but totaled just 220 yards for a paltry 5.8 yards per attempt. He didn't have a touchdown and he threw a killer interception midway through the fourth quarter when the Giants trailed 16-3 and had reached midfield after Engram's big play.

Manning's 76.3 completion percentage doesn't paint an accurate picture, as he was often off-target on completions, which prevented bigger gains. He was under pressure all night and was sacked three times.

The run game was no better, as the Giants managed just 35 yards on 12 carries. The Giants have now failed to top 20 points for seven straight games dating back to last season.

Like it did all last season, the defense did everything it could to keep the Giants in the game. But the defense wore down at points due to the combination of a grinding Cowboys attack and the Giants' inability to mount any offense.

The Cowboys out-gained the Giants 136-4 in the first quarter while holding a 12:14-2:46 advantage in time of possession. Somehow that dominance only resulted in a 3-0 Cowboys lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Cowboys added a field goal early in the second quarter and then Giant-killer Jason Witten scored a 12-yard touchdown late in the first half. The Giants then went three-and-out to leave enough time for the Cowboys to mount a field-goal drive to take a 16-0 lead into halftime.

A lengthy drive to open the third quarter stalled in the red zone and the Giants settled for a demoralizing field goal to cut the deficit to 16-3. That was it for the offense, as the Giants' last-gasp ended when Manning threw a brutal interception directly to Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown on a slant pass to Roger Lewis with 7:48 remaining.

Leaning on running back Ezekiel Elliott, who received an injunction to delay a six-game suspension, the Cowboys essentially ran out the clock before a late field goal by Dan Bailey. Elliott finished with 104 yards on 24 carries.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

*Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant wasted no time getting reacquainted. After an offseason of trash talk, Jenkins and Bryant starting jawing after the second play of the game. They had to be separated multiple times after the third play of the game.

The battle continued all night, with the Cowboys clearly trying to force the ball to Bryant after he was shut down by Jenkins last season. Jenkins had blanket coverage for most of the first half, but he was flagged for a questionable pass interference penalty on a fade to Bryant in the second quarter that set up the Cowboys' lone touchdown.

Bryant got free for a 35-yard gain in the third quarter when he caught a slant and broke a Jenkins tackle. Bryant finished with two catches for 43 yards on nine targets.

*The most encouraging development for the Giants was the play of B.J. Goodson. The second-year middle linebacker was all over the field. Goodson finished with 18 tackles, including 14 solo.

INJURIES

*The good news for the Giants: They didn't suffer any injuries during the game.

UP NEXT

The Giants will host the Lions next Monday. The Lions (1-0) beat the Cardinals, 35-23, on Sunday.